TY - JOUR
T1 - Why Palliative Care Shouldn’t Exist
JF - Hospital Pediatrics
JO - hosppeds
SP - 436
LP - 437
DO - 10.1542/hpeds.2018-0043
VL - 8
IS - 7
AU - Diamond, Rebekah
Y1 - 2018/07/01
UR - http://hosppeds.aappublications.org/content/8/7/436.abstract
N2 - I had finished my “presentation” of my patient, in which we had discussed Tyler’s plan for the day. Tyler was particularly medically complex, and it had taken over 30 minutes to review his treatment as a team. The most important changes to his plan that day included the following: (1) continuing to attempt intravenous placement with needle pokes in his arms and legs after multiple failed attempts; (2) initiating treatment with extremely strong antibiotics for a possible but unlikely infection, which would require frequent laboratory draws to make sure his kidneys were not damaged by this medicine; (3) sending him to the radiology suite for a special dye study to make sure that his feeding tube was working properly; and (4) checking his blood work 3 times during the day to make sure that his body’s salts and sugars stayed in balance. As I presented, my fellow physicians reviewed their individual computer screens once more to ensure all of their orders had been entered correctly, clicking through the typical alerts as they popped up.Tyler’s father had been caring for him for his entire life, splitting time at home with his wife to provide around-the-clock care for the past 7 years. Tyler had never spoken a word, had never been able to walk, took all of his food through a tube in his stomach, and wore a mask to help him breathe at all times. As we went over all of the lines, tubes, and invasive tests needed to “optimize” his medical management, his father only wanted to know how to make him comfortable and continue to support him.After morning rounds, I came back to talk to his father. Instead of reviewing each of Tyler’s medical problems, we …
ER -